Balalae Island (or Ballale/Ballali) is an island of the
Shortland Islands Group in
Western Province,
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
.
Early history
''Ballale'' means border place in the local
Alu language. As long as the natives of the Shortland Islands can remember, the island was uninhabited. According to a local legend, a strange blue light was often observed over the island. Therefore, the island was avoided, and, traditionally, no one lived there. For the local people, Ballale Island was considered a haunted place (''sacu-sacu''). War groups from neighbouring
Buka Island used this uninhabited island to cannibalize their prisoners captured during successful tribal feuds and headhunting raids to
Choiseul Island.
Englishman Sam Atkinson purchased the island in 1901 and established a coconut plantation, harvesting copra. The plantation included the Atkinson family home, as well as copra drying sheds and living quarters for workers. Copra was exported by boat. When Sam Atkinson died in 1931, his wife Edith kept on managing the plantation. She remained on the island until early 1942 when the British colonial government ordered all Europeans to be evacuated from the Solomons Islands.
World War II
The island was the scene of a Japanese
war crime
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. A work party of 517 British
prisoners of war from various artillery regiments captured after the
Battle of Singapore were transported to the island under the command of Lt. Col. John Bassett to build an airfield. Amongst the prisoners was the English cricketer
Norman Bowell. When the airfield was completed the prisoners, including their commander Bassett, were executed. The
mass graves
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...
were discovered after the war. Japanese authorities claimed that the prisoners were lost at sea when their transport was torpedoed.
This base was the intended destination from Rabaul of
Japanese Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Isoroku Yamamoto when his inspection flight was
intercepted and shot down on April 18, 1943, near the later site of
Buin,
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at .
The much smaller Buk ...
, killing him.
Sale of relics
In 2007, the Solomon Islands Government agreed to an arrangement for the sale of all World War II relics at the community of Balalae in Shortlands to an international group. The agreement allowed for the removal of the remains of 11 Japanese planes that had been in place since World War II.
Sources
External links
Encyclopædia BritannicaRoll of Honour SiteBallale Airfield
Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean
Islands of the Solomon Islands
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